Hopes of an end to the conflict in Macedonia are pinned on a political agreement giving greater rights to the ethnic Albanian minority. The role of Nato troops is restricted to disarming ethnic Albanian rebels but it's hoped their presence will help cement the shaky ceasefire and move the country towards lasting peace. BBC News Online follows the course of the conflict which has seen dozens of people killed and thousands more lose their homes.

Nato pleased with mission progress
29 August 2001

Nato soldiers show weapons to Lord Robertson

Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson on a visit to Macedonia said he was pleased with the progress of the weapons collection programme and urged the Macedonian parliament to start ratifying constitutional changes agreed in a deal struck with ethnic Albanian leaders.

Nato member states approve the immediate deployment of 3,500 troops in Macedonia. Their mission is to collect weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels and then to depart after just 30 days. NATO says the conditions for the mission are right with a ceasefire holding between government and rebel forces.

Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said the peace deal must be turned into reality

The Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian rebels finally reach a political agreement to settle their differences and end the fighting. But even as the talks were reaching a conclusion. Macedonia was experiencing some of the worst fighting since the conflict began. Nato is asked to send troops to disarm the rebels and make the peace deal a reality..

The latest ceasefire negotiated by the EU and Nato begins to take hold. But progress at the political talks is slow. Ethnic Albanians threaten to resume the fighting unless they are offered equality in areas such as policing and education and recognition of their language.

Rebel forces are close to Skopje and threaten to bombard the capital, provoking a fierce response from the Macedonian army. EU mediators attempt to negotiate a political settlement but the demands of the ethnic Albanian rebels are far beyond what the government is prepared to concede.

Macedonia's political parties unite to form a national unity government intent on ending the revolt by ethnic Albanian rebels. But there's evidence that the rebels are getting stronger with reports of fresh arms and reinforcements arriving from across the border in Kosovo.

The Macedonian army maintains a sustained offensive against the rebels but after three months, there is no sign of an end to the revolt. Meanwhile Macedonia's use of helicopter gunships and artillery and the risk of civilian casualties is beginning to cause international concern.

Ethnic Albanian rebels flee across the mountains to Kosovo to escape the offensive by the Macedonian army. The Macedonians say they have succeeded in flushing the rebels out of villages along the border. But many of the refugees claim they have done nothing wrong.

The Macedonian army is mobilised in response to a revolt by ethnic Albanian rebels. Supplied with arms from across the border in Kosovo, they form the National Liberation Army, saying they are fighting for improved rights for the Albanian minority in Macedonia. The government says they are terrorists. The fighting gets worse by the day